Society Doesn’t Want Us

Have you ever thought, perhaps a little bitterly or resentfully, “Society doesn’t want what I create?”

I first had this thought over a decade ago, when I was working in service and clerical jobs that had nothing to do with what I went to college for (which was creative writing and poetry). These jobs did not want to pay me to be creative, innovative, or solution-focused — instead, they just wanted… obedience.

It’s frustrating, and can even feel hurtful when you have something you’re proud of and no one seems to want it. When you have gifts, and, seemingly, no use for them. This is a form of rejection, and it’s one I experienced for years.

You may also experience this by receiving a rejection letter from a publisher or agent, disinterested glances during your thousandth screenplay pitch, or whenever your next great idea is unapologetically shot down.

And when that happens, it’s easy to become a little bitter. A little jaded. It’s tempting to feel a flare of anger and think, “They don’t want my creative work? Fine! I’ll be quiet and keep my head down and stop creating!”

Here’s the thing, though — while society will tell you over and over again that it doesn’t want your creativity, it actually needs your creativity to evolve and move forward. It’s just too entrenched in its own industrial, factory-like infrastructure to see it. And it’s too focused on profits to be willing to pay employees to take risks and innovate.

Agents, publishers, and film production companies alike will claim that they don’t want books/scripts that “won’t sell”. This is why we get eternally cycling reboots of old properties and storylines “guaranteed” to sell.

But what makes a real difference in society, and to individuals? The creative works that innovate. That reinvent. That push our buttons and coax us out of our comfort zones. That give us something we’ve never seen before.

Society might not want your creativity. But it sure as heck needs it.

So don’t create for society. Create for you. Create your art for the people you love and who will fall in love with your work. Innovate. Disrupt. Solve problems. Your creativity will set you apart and make you more valuable than society ever imagined.

Words & warmth,

Sarah